Dusk to Dawn
by Zodiac-Spirits
Summary: Of all the times for Lady Luck to ditch him, it had to be when a hungry vampire was around, and a pureblood at that. Now Kaito must find the one person who can help him, Kaien Cross, before it's too late. If he runs out of time, he may very well end up hurting the ones he loves most...


The teen was dressed completely in black, a cap pulled low over his eyes and his hands shoved in the pocket of his hoodie. Despite his dark attire, his grin was a 100,000 kilowatt bright one as he slunk down the dimly lit street. A car growled past, sending up a skid of rainwater that was evaded with a nimble leap forward. He paused for a moment to watch the car go by before snickering through his teeth and continuing on his way. The skies were cloudy, the half moon partially obscured, warning of more rain to come. Perhaps a teen dressed as he was would be suspicious at that time of night. However, no one was around to see Kaito Kuroba, and so the magician was safe.

Or so he thought.

Overall, he supposed his recon mission had gone pretty well. He had scoped out the scene of his next heist and memorized all possible escape routes. And when he said all, he meant _all_ of them. The gem was pretty promising as well. A nice looking yellow sapphire, the second largest in Japan. The Hawk's Eye, he believed it was called. Hakuba would be frantic to protect that one. Now all that was left was to scrawl down his riddle and send the notice to Nakamori-keibu._ 'Aoko's gonna have a fit tomorrow. Better get home and sleep so I can avoid the wrath of her mop.'_

As he continued strolling at a leisurely pace-he wasn't expecting Jii for another hour-he became aware of an odd prickling on the back of his neck. Kaito glanced around, quickly scanning the area for any unwanted companions. Finding none, he shrugged to himself and once again began walking at a quickened pace. This time he kept his eyes and ears alert. His instincts had saved him more than once, he wasn't about to ignore them now. A few more minutes of walking brought him to an empty intersection by a shut down drugstore. As he waited for the sign to switch to 'Walk', he noticed another person leaning against the light post. It appeared to be a man by the broad slope of his shoulders. He was dressed in a suit, and a plastic bag was hanging by his side. Well that was perfectly ordinary. A late-night worker, picking up some groceries from the convenience store for dinner. Not a single brow-lifting aspect about it.

So then why did he feel so uneasy? His grin fading, Kaito offered a polite nod to the man. He smiled and returned the gesture. It was a relief when the sign finally changed to a white stick figure of a walking person. The magician straightened up, shoulders relaxing, and stepped out into the street.

A hand closed over his mouth and he was dragged back and into an alley. Sirens went off in Kaito's head, screaming warnings that were just a bit too late. _'Murder, danger, run now, killer, oh shit-!'_ The panic did not last long. His mind quickly cleared and began racing for options. _'Alright, jerk the elbow back into his stomach then-' _Before Kaito could execute his attack plan, pain flared in his neck.

He couldn't hold back a gasp that was muffled by the man's hand. Something sharp-no, two things-were piercing his neck, right where the artery was. If the wound was deep and long enough, he could easily bleed to death. He could already feel his skin heat up as the blood rushed to that spot and began to spill out. His mind screamed for him to run, to fight, to do _anything _to get out of this man's grip, but he was paralyzed. His muscles refused to work as he simply stood there in shock. Then there was a strange noise, almost like gulping, that just managed to reach his ears. It was then that he realized his captor's mouth was latched onto his neck.

_'Is he biting me? Is he_ drinking _my blood?'_

The thought was ludicrous, even to him, but seemed to be the only possibility. In his pain-and-panic hazed mind, Kaito sluggishly thought it sounded like a vampire. But that was silly, vampires didn't exist. His vision was getting blurry now. Was his neck burning? It felt like it was on fire. He didn't even notice as he was released, slumping to the ground in a limp heap. The intense, burning pain in his throat was the last thing he remembered before sinking into unconsciousness.

* * *

Kaito woke up to a throbbing pain in his neck. He moaned quietly and rolled over, only to feel an uncomfortable tug at his skin. The magician glanced over to see a needle embedded in his arm. The needle was attached to a tube which lead to an IV that was filled with… blood. He stared at the scarlet-filled bag for a moment before the nausea set in and he looked away. Ugh… no matter where it was, a bag of blood just did not look right. Speaking of which… where was he? It clearly wasn't a hospital, the bed was too wide and there was no nasty antiseptic smell. Plus he had never heard of a hospital room with carpet floors and glow-in-the-dark stars dotted on the ceiling.

A creak to the side caught Kaito's attention. His gaze shirted from the artificial stars to the door. An elderly man stepped inside, one he recognized on sight. "Jii-chan?"

His voice was quiet and surprisingly raspy. Despite this, the old servant heard and met his eyes. A relieved smile broke out on his face. "Kaito Bocchama! It's such a relief to see you awake."

The words immediately raised some red flags in Kaito's mind. "Awake? How long have I been out?"

Jii's face darkened as he solemnly replied, "Nearly half a day." Kaito froze. He barely heard the man as he continued, "I found you out on the street last night, unconscious and bleeding nearly to death. If you had not woken within the next hour, I would have taken you to a hospital." The magician reached up to feel his neck. Pain flared at the touch and he recoiled with a hiss.

"Careful, Bocchama!" Jii chided. "You suffered a bad cut. Whoever attacked you was clearly intending for you to die."

Kaito blinked in confusion. Cut? Hadn't the man… bitten him? With much more care now, he traced the new wound on his neck. Indeed, it was a line rather than two punctures. Yet he had been so sure… Had it just been his imagination? He gritted his teeth in frustration. His memory of the event was hazy at best. The only clear recollections were his own panicked thoughts, not exactly the most reliable thing to go by.

"-are healing remarkably fast," Jii was saying. Kaito jerked as he realized he'd been spacing out. At the man's confused look, he gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Jii-chan. Could you repeat that?"

"I was saying that you are recovering quite quickly, considering your injuries. All the scrapes you had suffered have healed over, and the wound on your neck is already beginning to close."

Kaito shrugged. "I've always been quick to heal. Just in my blood, I guess."

Jii smiled a bit wistfully. "Yes, Master Toichi was always back on his feet days before expected." Then his face grew stern as he added, "But don't think I'll be letting you go so easily. You need rest if you are to properly recover."

"Awww, but Jii-chan-"

"Good night, Bocchama." The door swung shut.

* * *

Three months later…

* * *

"Honestly, Kaito. What is it today?"

"Head ache," the boy replied. Aoko sighed as he dropped his head back into the cradle of his arms.

"You've been getting sick constantly. Last month was a fever, then a sore throat, and now this!" Truth be told, she was worried about her best friend. Something was definitely wrong, but he either didn't know or wouldn't tell her what.

The magician huffed. "Tell me about it. And I've been practically dying of thirst all day!" To prove it, he produced a bottle of water and began gulping down its contents. By the time he screwed the cap back on, only a third of the water remained. He wiped a dribble of liquid from the corner of his mouth before heavily dropping his face back down to his arms. "Aoko, do me a favor and hit me. Hard as you can, with a mop. Being unconscious is better than this." His voice was a mumble.

Aoko gave him an exasperated yet sympathetic look. "Why don't you try going to the nurse's office?" She suggested. He glanced up inquisitively. "They may not be able to give you any medicine, but it's better than the noise, isn't it?"

Kaito's face brightened a bit at that. "You know, I think I'll do that. Thanks, Ahoko!" He ruffled her hair and she gave an indignant squawk. Nevertheless, she didn't stop him as he packed up his lunch and trooped out of the classroom. There was something she had learned about Kaito. If he said "It doesn't hurt", his injury was probably bleeding. If he said, "Just a little cold", it was bordering on fever. If he got a headache and had to go the the nurse's office because of it, it was most likely turning into a splitting migraine.

She came at the end of school to pick him up. When Aoko pushed the doors to the nurse's office open, she immediately spotted the boy. The nurse was gone, and Kaito was fast asleep on the cushioned table. "Jeez," she sighed to herself. "Must have been pretty bad to get _him _to stay still." She crossed the room to stand by his side, placing a firm hand on the teen's shoulder. "Kaito. Come on, baka, get up." When this didn't work, a new light bulb flashed over her head. Grinning deviously, she bend down to sing in his ear, "Under da sea, under da sea."

She felt the shift in his position and immediately stepped back to admire her work. His eyes flashed open and the fun began. He leaped off the table, hitting the wall with one shoulder and used the momentum to spring clean over the seat of a chair before taking shelter behind it. All in about .05 seconds-a new record. Aoko smirked while watching her friend's widened eyes dart back and forth in search of the dreaded _swimmy things_. Then they finally locked onto Aoko and hardened into a scowl. "Having fun?" she asked sweetly.

Kaito glowered for another moment before something seemed to click in his mind. With his own smirk, he replied, "Great fun, actually! I have a perfect view of your panties from here. White again? Well, no complaints from me!"

A red dusting of anger and embarrassment spread across Aoko's face as her hand instinctively grabbed the nearest cleaning item. This one happened to be a broom. The magician faltered under her vengeful gaze, stammering out excuses and hasty apologies as he got back to his feet. She gave him a final warning glare before setting the broom back against the wall with an almost menacing clack.

They exited the school with bags in hand and jibes poised on their tongues. Throughout the carefree bantering, one would not notice the gleam in Aoko's eye, and a certain crook to Kaito's grin that was just a bit different than his usual one. The one reserved for her, and her alone. Most would not realize, but to Kaito, it was obvious as the sun and moon.

"So you're headache's gone?" Aoko finally asked, after a heated argument about her actual gender.

"Just about!" he replied cheerfully. He tapped at his temple for emphasis. Then he suddenly lashed out to jab smartly at hers. It seemed she was not expecting that, for she immediately tumbled to the ground with a startled yelp. Kaito cursed, lunged for her hand, missed and ended up watching helplessly as she landed in a heap. "Damn," he growled. "Sorry-I wasn't expecting that-should have caught you…"

"Baka!" she snapped. "Don't shock me like that!" Despite her angry words, it was clear to Kaito that she was not really all that angry. The teen attempted to push herself to her feet, only to wince and fall back again with a small, "Ow."

Concern for his friend immediately became the dominant emotion. The magician knelt down, grasping her hand carefully and turning the palm up towards him. The skin was weeping heavily with scarlet, leaving a small puddle in the center of her hand. "Aaah, it doesn't look to bad, but you'll need bandages-" he cut off as something struck him. Namely, the strange scent of Aoko's blood.

He knew what blood smelled like. It was sharp and metallic and burned his nose, absolutely sickening… It wasn't. When the scent of her blood hit him, his mouth began to water. There was a small murmur in the back of his mind.

_'Delicious…'_

Blood wasn't supposed to smell like that. The sight of it wasn't supposed to be so absolutely enticing.

_'I… I want…'_

His eyes were transfixed on the rivulets of blood that dribbled down her palm and to the wrist. A hand, his own, carefully lifted hers to eye level. He barely heard Aoko's protests, and there was a tug as she tried to free her hand. Kaito's eyes narrowed and he instinctively tightened his grip despite her squeak of pain.

_'I want it.' _The murmur grew firm, demanding. He was leaning forward, mouth opening. Then he could taste it. His eyes closed as he savored the indescribable flavor. _'So good… I want… more. I want more.' _Suddenly he had an urge, an urge to _bite,_ to sink his teeth in and taste _more_.

"Kaito!" Her hand was wrenched away just before her fist collided with his cheek. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled out on the ground and staring owlishly at a flustered Aoko. "What was that for?" She was yelling. Her face was alight with embarrassment, bleeding hand safely tucked behind her.

It took a moment for his mind to make sense of it all. Slowly, a throbbing pain in his cheek began to register and he realized she had just punched him. He snapped back into gear, pushing himself into a sitting position and snapping indignantly back, "What was that for? You punched me!" He could barely believe the injustice of it all!

"You _licked _me!" She yelled back. Both teens found their faces heating up further.

Kaito huffed, crossing his arms. "What? Haven't you heard that saliva helps a wound heal? Besides, it's not like I hurt you. Ahoko," he added, just to emphasize his point.

The girl rolled her eyes and grabbed her fallen bag. "Whatever. Just try to be a little less weird next time." She began marching away, forcing Kaito to scramble after his friend. He grumbled irate complaints that were promptly ignored by the still-blushing teen. _'But… why did I do that? It's like I just… lost control there. And her blood tasted amazing.' _Feeling sickened by his own thoughts, Kaito pushed it out of his mind and hurried after Aoko.

* * *

**Been entertaining this idea for a while and decided to go for it. I'm actually not certain of just what's going to happen, but I do have a basic outline. Kind of. Suggestions, comments, and criticism are welcomed!  
**

**I do not own Detective Conan or Vampire Knight. This disclaimer will last through the entire story.  
**


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